A significant challenge in bicycle training is for a cyclist to move as efficiently as possible while maximizing power output. Often, it is difficult for cyclists to learn proper technique involving precise functional movement of the upper trunk, lower trunk, and pelvis. The bones and joints can be thought of as scaffolding, forming a system of levers in the human body, while the muscular system provides force and allows for motion by the levers. The scaffolding, or the body segments and bones, can be moved by at least two opposing sets of muscles. The performance of preferred movement of any muscle group requires precise contraction from an agonist muscle and relative relaxation of an antagonist group of muscles. Co-contraction of muscles, or concurrent contraction and relaxation of opposing muscles, results in an inability to perform precise functional movement. As such, to maximize performance in cycling or any exercise, it is advantageous to train the musculature to contract and relax as efficiently as possible. To improve an athlete's ability to perform preferred movements, a user should remain relatively relaxed and apply precise movement that the task demands. For cycling, proper functional movement may enable a cyclist to remain relaxed, performing a pedaling action quite freely, and enabling the cyclist to make beneficial adjustments in cadence and intensity by means of specific movements of the shoulders, upper trunk, lower trunk, and pelvis.
The bicycling community, including authors of cycling books, reviewers of the cycling literature, coaches and athletes, have placed physiological training, for example pedal based training, and aerodynamics at center stage with regard to bicycle riding and performance standards. The common perception is that any movements of the shoulders, trunk, or the pelvis are wasteful and represent a detriment to riding efficiency. However, maintaining the pelvis fixed on the saddle naturally leads to undesired muscle co-contractions in an attempt to counteract pedal reaction forces. Thus, the above-mentioned perception is in error, as it leads to ineffective co-contractions of opposing muscle sets.
The bicycling community fails to recognize the importance of the shoulders, upper trunk, lower trunk, and pelvis in the application of force to pedals and the crankarms of a bicycle. Biomechanical publications generally assume a cyclists pelvis is fixed on a saddle to simplify biomechanical calculations. Because of this misunderstanding, physiologists typically disregard the contribution of the trunk and pelvis towards performance, since the cyclist's legs account for the bulk of physiological requirements. As a result, known training programs merely reinforce a cyclists pre-existing skill level and do not typically lead to rapid improvement.
To be efficient, a cyclist must manage pedal reaction forces that result from both the downstroke and upstroke of a pedaling motion. These rotational moments are in the same direction and therefore additive. If a cyclist's pelvis sits passively on a saddle, then once the athlete exceeds a certain performance threshold, these movements will become unstable and inefficient. For example, when the only thing that keeps a cyclist's pelvis seated on a saddle is body weight, then instability will likely result due to bouncing of the pelvis on the saddle. The physiological approach to training does nothing to address rotational induced instability. A cyclist will typically expend inordinate energy in a futile attempt to maintain rigidity and stability, with no benefit in terms of bicycle propulsion.
One scientific publication illustrates that the pelvis does indeed exhibit an elliptical path of progression. (“Accuracy Assessment of Methods for Determining Hip Movement in Seated Cycling”, R. R. Neptune and M. L. Hull, J. Biomechanics Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 423-437, 1995). The authors conclude that the movement of the pelvis, from a single experimental subject, contributed significant mechanical energy to a pedal stroke. The authors made no reference regarding the integrated role of the shoulders, upper trunk, lower trunk and pelvis, nor any allusion regarding skill in the sport of cycling beyond stating that a bony marker on the pelvis traced an elliptical path.
As discussed above, scientific and cycling communities have failed to recognize that cycling-specific, well-coordinated, graceful, and precise movements punctuate superior performance. As a result, known devices and methods of bicycle training that focus only on physiological training, such as pure cycling or pedal-based training, are insufficient to provide a cyclist with an ability to improve motion of the shoulders, upper trunk, lower trunk, and pelvis. As such, there exists a need for improved methods and devices for cycling training to enhance rider stability and improve rider efficiency.